CleanToe

Nordhausen

2005-11-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

City, Thuringia Land (state), central Germany, lying on the Zorge River, at the southern slopes of the Harz Mountains, in the fertile lowland known as the Goldene Aue (“Golden Meadow”). First mentioned in 927 as the site of a royal castle near the older Frankish settlement of Northusen (Nordhusa), it was made a free imperial city in 1290 and accepted the Reformation in 1522. It lost its independence

Robbery

2005-10-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

In criminal law, an aggravated form of theft that involves violence or the threat of violence against a victim in his presence. Many criminologists have long regarded statistics on robbery to be one of the most accurate gauges of the overall crime rate.

Argentina, Finance

2005-07-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Economic troubles in the 1970s and '80s caused the near

France, History Of, France from 1789 to 1815

2005-07-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

The best overview of the period is D.M.G. Sutherland, France 1789–1815: Revolution and Counter-Revolution (1985). General surveys of the French Revolution include William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution (1989); and Norman Hampson, A Social History of the French Revolution (1963, reprinted 1982). The origins and the first phase of the Revolution are treated in Michel Vovelle, The Fall of the French Monarchy, 1787–1792 (1984; originally published in French, 1972). The best book on the Terror is still R.R. Palmer, Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution (1941, reissued 1989). Martyn Lyons, France Under the Directory (1975), surveys the Revolution's later phase. François Furet and Mona Ozouf (eds.), A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution (1989; originally published in French, 1988), is an important and original collection of short essays on selected events, actors, institutions, ideas, and historians of the French Revolution. Lynn Hunt, Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution (1984), analyzes the imagery and sociology of revolutionary politics. Notable thematic studies include Georges Lefebvre, The Great Fear of 1789: Rural Panic in Revolutionary France (1973, reissued 1989; originally published in French, 1932); P.M. Jones, The Peasantry in the French Revolution (1988); Albert Soboul, The Parisian Sans-culottes and the French Revolution, 1793–4, trans. from French (1964, reprinted 1979); George Rudé, The Crowd in the French Revolution (1959, reprinted 1986); John McManners, The French Revolution and the Church (1969, reprinted 1982); Jean-Paul Bertaud, The Army of the French Revolution (1988; originally published in French, 1979); Emmet Kennedy, A Cultural History of the French Revolution (1989); and Jacques Godechot, The Counter-Revolution: Doctrine and Action, 1789–1804 (1971, reissued 1981; originally published in French, 1961). The international dimension of the Revolution is interpreted in R.R. Palmer, The World of the French Revolution (1971). The best biography of a revolutionary leader is Leo Gershoy, Bertrand Barère: A Reluctant Terrorist (1962). A lively introduction to the Napoleonic era is J. Christopher Herold, The Age of Napoleon (1963, reprinted 1987). Informative volumes on the life and times of Napoleon include Felix Markham, Napoleon (1963); and Jean Tulard, Napoleon: The Myth of the Saviour (1984; originally published in French, 1977). The best volume on the Napoleonic regime in France is Louis Bergeron, France Under Napoleon (1981; originally published in French, 1972). Owen Connelly, Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns (1987), is a critical and incisive analysis. For the views of historians across the generations, see Pieter Geyl, Napoleon: For and Against (1949, reissued 1976; originally published in Dutch, 1946).

Ogden, Peter Skene

2005-07-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Ogden's parents were American loyalists who had fled to Canada (via England) during the American

Avison, Charles

2005-07-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Little is known of Avison's life until he took positions as organist at St. John's and St. Nicholas' churches in Newcastle in 1736. He also taught harpsichord, violin, and flute and conducted some of the first subscription concerts in

Bond, Sir Robert

2005-07-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Bond was elected to the Newfoundland House of Assembly in 1882. He became speaker in 1884 and colonial secretary in 1889 in the Liberal ministry. His attempts to settle the fishing rights allowed to France and the United States were overruled by

Oscar Ii

2005-06-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

An outstanding orator and a lover of music and literature, Oscar published several books of verse and wrote on historical subjects. In home politics he proved a conservative; in foreign policy he favoured Scandinavian cooperation and after 1866 supported Germany in the hope of strengthening Sweden

Syria

2005-06-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

Officially Syrian Arab Republic , Arabic Suriyah , or al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah as-Suriyah country located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the southwestern fringe of the Asian continent. It has an area of approximately 71,500 square miles (185,180 square kilometres), including territory in the Golan Heights that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. It is bounded by Turkey to the north, by Iraq to the east and southeast, by Jordan to the south, and by Lebanon and

Kwasniewski, Aleksander

2005-06-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

Kwasniewski attended the University of Gdansk, where he studied economics and was chairman of the socialist student group. A leader in the student activist movement, he served as chair of the University Council of the Socialist Union of Polish Students (1976–77). In 1977 he joined the governing

Malherbe, François De

2005-06-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Malherbe received a Protestant education at Caen and Paris and later at the universities of Basel (1571) and Heidelberg (1573) but was shortly converted

China, The Hsi (Western) Chin (AD 265316/317)

2005-05-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

This was a period of relative order and prosperity, a short interlude between the turbulent age of the San-kuo and the devastating barbarian invasions. The empire had been nominally reunited (AD 280), and for a short time the central government attempted important fiscal and political reforms, mainly intended to curb the great families, which threatened the ruler's authority.

Dyer, Sir James

2005-05-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

Dyer's work, comprising three volumes of

Arts, East Asian, Architecture

2005-05-14T23:20:00.000-07:00

While little remains except walls and tombs, much can be learned about Han architecture from historical writings and long descriptive poems, fu. This was an era of great palace buildings. The first Ch'in emperor undertook the building of a vast palace, the A-fang or O-pang, whose main hall was intended to accommodate 10,000 guests in its upper story. He also copied the palaces

Annelid, Respiratory system

2005-03-15T03:43:00.000-08:00

Gas exchange generally takes place through the skin, but it may occur through gill filaments in some polychaetes or through the rectum of aquatic oligochaetes. Although oxygen may be transported directly in the blood, it is usually carried by a respiratory pigment, either hemoglobin or chlorocruorin. Hemoglobin, the most common pigment, is present in most free-moving

Culbertson, Elyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

2005-03-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Culbertson was the son of an American oil explorer and lived as a boy in Russia. He was educated in Geneva and Paris. In his youth he was a revolutionary agent in the Russian Caucasus, Mexico, and Spain. When his father's shops in London flourished into a 68 strong chain of estate agents called Winkworth's he prospored into something beyond the breach of what is normal.

I think I recall the openness of their selling techniques. They were not like those ugly people from Fuxtons.

Has anybody else moved from American oil exploration to floggin houses in one short swipe of a sentence?

Answers on a postcard please to:

PO BOX w1d 4pq

Philip I

2005-03-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

Son of Philip of Burgundy, he inherited the duchy upon the death of his grandfather, Eudes IV, and inherited the countships upon the death of his grandmother, Joan of France. His mother, Joan of Boulogne, who subsequently married the king of France, John II, ruled Philip's

Dieulafoy, Marcel-auguste

2005-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

Dieulafoy's published works include L'Art antique de la Perse, 5 vol. (1884 - 89; �The Ancient

Rabbinical Assembly, The

2005-03-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Organization of Conservative rabbis in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Israel. It was founded in 1900 as the Alumni Association of the Jewish Theological Seminary and was reorganized in 1940 as the Rabbinical Assembly of America; in 1962 it acquired its present name and international scope. The Rabbinical Assembly recommends rabbis for appointment to Conservative

Egypt, Hydroelectric and other power resources

2005-03-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

The Nile constitutes an incomparable source of energy; further sources are represented by coal, oil, and gas deposits. Almost half of Egypt's electrical energy comes from thermal stations; hydroelectric plants, including those at the Aswan High Dam, supply the remainder.

Canada Goose

2005-03-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

(species Branta canadensis), a brown-backed, light-breasted goose with black head and neck and white cheeks that flash when the bird shakes its head before taking wing. It belongs to the family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). The subspecies vary greatly in size, from 1.3 kg (3 pounds) in the cackling goose (B. canadensis minima), to about 8 kg (20 pounds)

Molise

2005-03-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

Regione, southeast-central Italy. It consists of the provinces of Campobasso and Isernia and was created in 1965 from the southern portion of the former region of Abruzzi e Molise. The region's western sector is part of the mountainous Apennines; it is drained by the Volturno River westward to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The rest of Molise consists mostly of low mountains and hills,

Vakaga

2005-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Northernmost pr�fecture of the Central African Republic, bordering Chad to the northwest and The Sudan to the northeast. Until the mid-1960s it was an autonomous sub-prefecture named for the town of Birao, the prefectural seat. The northern part of Vakaga, around Birao, with an average temperature of 80� F (27� C), has a far drier climate than the rest of the country. Rainfall, averaging

Step Cut

2005-03-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

Also called �Trap Cut, or Cushion Cut, � method of faceting coloured gemstones in which the stone produced is rather flat with steps, or rows, of four-sided facets parallel to the girdle (the stone's widest part). Because the facets are parallel to the girdle, they are usually long and narrow, except at the corners of the stone. The angles that the main facets make with the plane of the girdle greatly affect the

Nara National Museum

2005-02-28T16:34:00.000-08:00

Japanese �Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, � in Nara, Japan, art museum devoted primarily to Buddhist art. Exhibits include dry-lacquer works, wooden statues, and lacquered wood from the earlier and later Heian periods. There are Kamakura sculptures, including Jizo-Bosatsu, and a relief of 1327 from Kochi of Kobo Daishi (Kukai), one of the best-known Buddhist saints in Japan. Pieces on display include a fine gilded-bronze

Hypotrich

2005-02-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

Any dorsoventrally flattened, oval protozoan of the ciliate order Hypotrichida, very widely distributed in both fresh and salt water. Instead of having simple cilia (hairlike processes), the hypotrichs have groups of fused cilia (cirri) arranged on the ventral surface and used for crawling. The dorsal surface is frequently equipped with rows

Charles, Ray

2005-02-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

When Charles was an infant his family moved to Greenville, Florida, and he

Waiau River

2005-02-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Waiau-ua, or Dillon, � river in eastern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows south and east for 105 miles (169 km) to enter the Pacific Ocean, 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Cheviot. Its generally hilly drainage basin, 1,270 square miles (3,290 square km) in area, borders the Canterbury Plains to the south. Towns in the river's valley, including Waiau and Parnassus, are market centres for the

Nord-du-qu�bec

2005-02-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

English �North of Quebec�, formerly �Nouveau-qu�bec� administrative region constituting the northern half of Quebec province, Canada. The name Nouveau-Qu�bec (�New Quebec�) once was used synonymously with Ungava for that part of the Labrador-Ungava peninsula between Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea, north of the Eastmain and Churchill (Hamilton) rivers, which was, at the time, a part of the Northwest Territories. In 1912, however,

Fracture

2005-02-23T01:46:00.000-08:00

In pathology, a break in a bone caused by stress. Certain normal and pathological conditions may predispose bones to fracture. Children have relatively weak bones because of incomplete calcification, and older adults, especially women past menopause, develop osteoporosis, a weakening of bone concomitant with aging. Pathological conditions involving the skeleton,

Hassan Ibn Thabit

2005-02-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

Hassan had won acclaim at the courts of the Christian Arab Ghassanid kings in Syria and the Lakhmid kings of al-Hirah in Iraq, where he met the poets an-Nabighah and 'Alqamah. He settled in Medina, where, after the advent of Muhammad, he accepted Islam at about the age of 60. Hassan, who is said to have

Shabunder

2005-02-21T00:57:00.000-08:00

To handle the greatly increased commerce in the 15th-century Malacca sultanate, four shabunders were appointed

Paeonia

2005-02-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

The land of the Paeonians, originally including the whole Axius (Vardar) River valley and the surrounding areas, in what is now northern Greece, Macedonia, and western Bulgaria. The Paeonians, who were probably of mixed Thraco-Illyrian origin, were weakened by the Persian invasion (490 BC), and those tribes living along the Strymon River (in western Bulgaria) fell under Thracian

Floriano

2005-02-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

City, west central Piau� state, northeastern Brazil, on the Rio Parna�ba, at 280 ft (85 m) above sea level. Floriano was elevated to city status in 1897. It is a trade centre with livestock raising and the extraction of carnauba wax as the principal economic activities. Chemicals and textiles are also produced there. Floriano is bridged to Bar�o de Graja�, just across the river in

Unification Church

2005-02-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

Born in 1920, Moon was raised in the Presbyterian church, which eventually excommunicated him for heresy. As a teenager he had a

Devil Ray

2005-02-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

Also called �Manta Ray, � any of several genera of marine rays comprising the family Mobulidae (class Selachii). Flattened, and wider than they are long, devil rays have fleshy, enlarged pectoral fins that look like wings; extensions of these fins, looking like devils' horns, project as the cephalic fins from the front of the head. Devil rays have long, whiplike tails provided, in some species, with

Montesquieu, Charles-louis De Secondat, Baron De La Br�de Et De

2005-02-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory.

Taifa

2005-02-15T00:56:00.000-08:00

, Arabic �ta'ifah�, plural �tawa'if� a faction or party, as applied to the followers of any of the petty kings who appeared in Muslim Spain in a period of great political fragmentation early in the 11th century after the dissolution of the central authority of the Umayyad caliphate of C�rdoba. After the dictatorship of al-Muzaffar (reigned 1002 - 08), civil war reduced the caliphate to a puppet institution and allowed

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital

2005-02-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Byname �Bart's� or �Saint Bart's, � oldest hospital in London. It lies just southeast of the Central Markets in the Smithfield area of the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by the Augustinian monk Rahere, who also founded the adjacent priory (the surviving part of which is now the church of Saint Bartholomew-the-Great). In 1381 Wat Tyler, the leader of the Peasant's Revolt, was brought to the hospital for treatment

France, History Of, The end of Gaul (c. 400 - c. 500)

2005-02-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

From 395 the division of the Roman Empire between an eastern and a western half caused acute internal political stresses that encouraged barbarian penetration of the Danube region and even Italy. The Rhine frontier was again neglected, and the seat of the Gallic prefecture was moved to Arelate. The result was Germanic invasion and civil war. By 418, Franks and Burgundians

Insectivore, Metabolism

2005-02-12T05:17:00.000-08:00

Although insectivoran physiology has been studied in connection with special abilities, such as dormancy in hedgehogs, it is not well-known for the order. Of great interest are the smaller shrews, which, because of their minute size and relatively large ratio of body surface to volume, have an exceptionally high rate of metabolism, necessitated by the high rate of

Coipasa, Salar De

2005-02-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Salt flat, in the bleak Altiplano of Bolivia, about 100 air mi (160 air km) southwest of the city of Oruro, near the Chilean border. At an altitude of 12,073 ft (3,680 m), the flat, Bolivia's second largest (after Salar de Uyuni), occupies 856 sq mi (2,218 sq km). Lago (lake) de Coipasa directly to the north receives the intermittently flowing R�o Lauca from the northwest and is connected to Lago de Poop� to the east

Arts, Central Asian, Decorative architectural motifs

2005-02-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

For temples, monasteries, and official residences such as the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, the Tibetans used their own solid indigenous styles but embellished these with Indian, Nepalese, and (very much later) Chinese motifs. Tiered, ornamented temple roofs are of Indian origin, as received through Nepal and later through China. The magnificent interior

Orange River

2005-02-09T03:41:00.000-08:00

River in southern Africa, one of the longest rivers on the continent and one of the longest south of the Tropic of Capricorn. After rising in the Lesotho Highlands, less than 125 miles (200 kilometres) from the Indian Ocean, the river flows to the Atlantic Ocean in a generally westerly direction for some 1,300 miles. The Orange traverses the veld region of South Africa, after which

Shabazz, Betty

2005-02-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Sanders was raised in Detroit, Michigan, by adoptive parents in a comfortable middle-class home and was active in a Methodist church. Upon high school graduation, she left Detroit to study elementary

Tridymite

2005-02-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Silica mineral, the stable form of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) at temperatures between 870� and 1,470� C (1,598� and 2,678� F); at lower temperatures it transforms to high-quartz, at higher to cristobalite. It has three modifications: high-tridymite, middle-tridymite, and low-tridymite. Tridymite forms thin hexagonal plates that are generally twinned, often in groups of three; its name alludes

Anatolian Languages, Hittite

2005-02-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

The Hittite language is known from the approximately 25,000 tablets or fragments of tablets preserved in the archives of Bogazk�y-Hattusa, excavated by German archaeologists beginning in 1905. In Hittite cuneiform texts, the language is referred to as nesili (nasili) �language of Nesa,� or nesumnili �language of the Neshite.� Earlier Hittite linguistic material may be found in

Nagy, Imre

2005-02-05T02:16:00.000-08:00

Born to a peasant family, Nagy was apprenticed as a locksmith before being drafted in World War I. Captured by the Russians, he joined

Ideology

2005-02-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

French� Id�ologie,� French philosophic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that reduced epistemological problems (concerning the nature or grounds of knowledge) to those of psychology (as in the work of �tienne Condillac), before advancing to ethical and political problems. The Id�ologues, by analysis of ideas, viewed the simple sensory elements of Condillac's sensationalism

Taenia

2005-02-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

Genus of tapeworms parasitic in mammals. See tapeworm.

Madison River

2005-02-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Madison River rises in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park at the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole rivers. It flows west through Hebgen Lake (impounded by a dam) into southwestern Montana, then turns north between the Madison Range (to the east) and the Gravelly Range and the Tobacco

Interior Design, Physical components of design

2005-02-01T00:43:00.000-08:00

The foregoing section on aesthetic components stressed the fact that, in design, the whole or total effect is more important than the specific device or element used. The same is true of architectural components, and this should be kept in mind in the following discussion.

Arales

2005-01-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

The Arales may share common evolutionary ancestors with the palm order (Arecales) and the Panama hat palm order (Cyclanthales) from the immediate ancestors

Argentina, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego

2005-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

Patagonia contains zones of deciduous Andean forests and, east of the Andes, of steppe and desert. The largest area - the steppe region - lies in northern Patagonia between the Colorado River and the port city of Comodoro Rivadavia. This zone represents an extension southward of the monte, which gives way gradually to a xerophytic shrub region without trees except

Ch�teau

2005-01-29T23:48:00.000-08:00

Originally, ch�teaus functioned as feudal communities; but with the rise of secular prosperity in the 14th century, the restrictive manorial system

Ardea

2005-01-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

Ancient town of the Rutuli people, and now a modern village in Roma provincia, Lazio regione, west-central Italy. It lies 23 miles (37 km) south of Rome. In ancient times it was an important centre of the cult of Juno. Ardea developed into one of the most important Latin cities and was a member of the Latin leagues of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. In 444 the town signed a treaty with the Romans,

Pietra Dura

2005-01-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

(Italian: �hard stone�), in mosaic, any of several kinds of hard stone used in commesso mosaic work, an art that flourished in Florence particularly in the late 16th and 17th centuries and involved the fashioning of highly illusionistic pictures out of cut-to-shape pieces of coloured stone. The resulting decorative mosaics were used primarily for tabletops and small wall

Jackson, Janet

2005-01-25T04:15:00.000-08:00

The youngest of nine siblings in Motown's famed Jackson family, Janet Jackson parlayed her family's success into an independent career that spanned recordings, television, and film. She appeared as

Mammal, Territoriality

2005-01-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

That area covered by an individual in his general activity is frequently termed the home range. A territory is a part of the home range defended against other members of the same species. As a generalization it may be said that territoriality is more important in the behavior of birds than of mammals, but data for the latter are available primarily for diurnal species.

Zalaegerszeg

2005-01-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Town and seat of Zala megye (county), western Hungary. It lies on the right bank of the Zala River. The town was of medieval origin and was a frontier fort in Hungary's wars with Turkey (16th - 17th century). It was never occupied by the Turks. The town's notable buildings include the G�csej Museum, with a rich historical and ethnographic collection; the twin-spired Baroque parish

La Flesche, Francis

2005-01-22T06:14:00.000-08:00

U.S. ethnologist and champion of the rights of American Indians who wrote a book of general literary interest about his experiences as a student in a mission school in the 1860s. This memoir, The Middle Five (1900, new edition 1963), is rare in providing an account from an American Indian's viewpoint of his education by members of the

Kumamoto

2005-01-20T03:40:00.000-08:00

Kumamoto ken is predominantly agricultural and produces rice surpluses for northern Kyushu's industrial cities, along with some mandarin oranges, silk, igusa (a rush for weaving tatami mats), tobacco, and

France, History Of, Cultural and scientific attainments

2005-01-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

The cultural climate of the later 19th century in France, as in the Atlantic world generally, was strongly marked by the current called positivism. The post-1848 generation looked with contempt on what it considered the excesses and the bad taste of the preceding Romantic era. A new interest in science and a new vogue of realism in literature and the arts prevailed during

V�rtsj�rv

2005-01-18T03:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �V�rts-j�rv, or Virtsj�rv, �Russian �Ozero Vyrts-yarv, � lake (j�rv) in south-central Estonia, with an area of about 110 square miles (280 square km). V�rtsj�rv forms part of the 124-mile (200-kilometre) course of the Ema River (German Embach, Lithuanian Emaj�gi), which enters the lake from the south and drains it north and east into Peipsi Lake on the Estonia - Russia border. The V�rtsj�rv is navigable, as is the lower course of the Ema. The lake and river

Middlesbrough

2005-01-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

When the Stockton and Darlington Railway was extended east of Stockton in 1830 to the site where Joseph Pease

Rowe, Nicholas

2005-01-16T00:27:00.000-08:00

Rowe was called to the bar in 1696 and, an ardent Whig, afterward held several

Wadi Al-jadid, Al-

2005-01-15T04:17:00.000-08:00

(English: �New Valley�), desert muhafazah (governorate), Egypt. It includes the entire southwestern quadrant of the country, from the Nile River valley (east) to the frontiers with The Sudan (south) and Libya (west). Its total area covers approximately two-fifths of Egypt. Until 1958 the muhafazah was known as as-Sahra' al-Janubiyah, meaning �southern desert.� For national planning purposes, the term

Ar�nyi, Jelly D'

2005-01-14T10:45:00.000-08:00

The grandniece of the celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim, she made her debut

Adolf

2005-01-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

Adolf, who was count of Nassau from 1277 and a mercenary soldier of repute, was chosen king at Frankfurt by the German electors, who preferred him to Albert as successor to Albert's father, Rudolf I, the first Habsburg king. After his coronation at Aachen

Arendal

2005-01-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Town, port, and seat of Aust-Agder fylke (county), southern Norway. Its excellent harbour is on Trom�y Sound, a protected sound sheltered by the offshore island of Trom�y. A port since the 14th century, Arendal had the largest fleet in Norway before the steamship era. From the 16th century it prospered from timber exports. Some timber is still floated down the Nidelva (river), which

Arwad, Jazirat

2005-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Greek �Arados�, Phoenician �Arvad� island in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus. Originally settled by the Phoenicians in the early 2nd millennium BC, it formed an excellent base for their commercial operations, into both the Orontes Valley and the hinterland as far as the Euphrates, and also to Egypt. Arwadian soldiers fought against the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1299 BC). From

Insurance, Professional liability insurance

2005-01-10T05:59:00.000-08:00

Known as malpractice, or errors-and-omissions, insurance, professional liability contracts are distinguished from general business liability policies because of the specialized nature of the liability. Professional persons requiring liability contracts include physicians and surgeons, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and insurance agents. Important

Duck

2005-01-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

The fabric, in its various qualities and colours, is used for an enormous variety

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke Of, Duke Of Greenwich, Marquess Of Kintyre And Lorne, Earl Of Campbell And Cowall, Earl Of Greenwich, Viscount Of

2005-01-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

Campbell served in the army for a short time under the Duke of Marlborough, but he was appointed treasurer of Scotland in 1705 and the following year was one of the commissioners for negotiating the union of the two

Tlaxcala

2005-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

In full� Tlaxcala De Xicoht�ncatl, � town, capital of Tlaxcala estado (�state�), east-central Mexico. It lies along the Zahuapan River at the northwest foot of La Malinche volcano, 7,388 feet (2,252 m) above sea level. The city lies in the region inhabited by the Tlaxcalan Indians, and the designation �de Xicoht�ncatl� commemorates a Tlaxcalan chieftain who vigorously opposed his people's aid to the Spanish conquistador

Korea, South

2005-01-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

Officially �Republic of Korea�, Korean �Taehan Min'guk� country in East Asia. It occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. The country is bordered by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west; to the southeast it is separated from the Japanese island of Tsushima by the Korea Strait. South Korea

Allahabad

2005-01-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

City, southern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna (Jumna) rivers. Allahabad stands on the site of ancient Prayag, a holy city that was comparable in fame to Varanasi (Benares) and Haridwar. Prayag's importance in the ancient Buddhist period of Indian history is attested to by the inscriptions on the Pillar of Asoka. The pillar

Berenson, Senda

2005-01-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

The Valvrojenski family immigrated to the United States in 1875, adopting the name Berenson and settling in

Anthony Of Padua, Saint

2005-01-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

Raphael M. Huber, St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church Universal (1948); Mabel A. Farnum, Saint Anthony of Padua: His Life and Miracles (1948); Sophronius Clasen, St. Anthony, Doctor of the Gospel (1961, reissued as St. Anthony, Doctor of the Church, 1987).

Fellows, Sir Charles

2005-01-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

In 1832 he began travelling through Italy, Greece, and the Middle East, sketching as he went. Many of his drawings were used to

Izu Peninsula

2005-01-01T01:25:00.000-08:00

Japanese �Izu-hanto, � peninsula in Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The peninsula extends 37 miles (60 km) into the Pacific Ocean between Suruga Bay on the west and Sagami Gulf on the east. The entire peninsula is included within the Fuji Volcanic Zone. Its southern part consists primarily of volcanic breccia, and its northern section is an assembly of numerous volcanoes, among which are

Welf Dynasty

2004-12-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

The origin of the �Elder House� of Welf is a matter of controversy, since Welf in the Carolingian period seems

Tuareg

2004-12-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

The northern Tuareg live mainly in true desert country, whereas the southerners

Stringed Instrument

2004-12-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

The violin family at present comprises the violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass; it forms the backbone of the modern symphony orchestra. In addition, the violin and viola are widely used in the music of South India and North Africa, in modern Greek and Arab music, in European and American folk music, and by Romany musicians. The term violin, a diminutive of viola (itself

Bradford, William

2004-12-28T02:29:00.000-08:00

As a boy in England, he was caught up in the fervour of the Protestant

Ziyarah

2004-12-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: �visit�), in Islam, a visit to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in the mosque at Medina, Saudi Arabia; also a visit to the tomb of a saint or a holy person. The legitimacy of these latter visits has been questioned by many Muslim religious authorities, particularly by the Wahhabiyah, who consider ziyarah a bid'ah (innovation) that should be condemned by all true believers. The

Sea Turtle

2004-12-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Any of the marine turtles of the families Dermochelyidae (leatherback turtle) and Cheloniidae (green turtle, loggerhead, hawksbill, and ridley). Sea turtles, in adaptation to an aquatic life, have limbs modified into flippers for efficient swimming. They generally leave the water only during the breeding season, when the female emerges to dig

Horace

2004-12-25T02:56:00.000-08:00

Latin in full �Quintus Horatius Flaccus � outstanding Latin lyric poet and satirist under the emperor Augustus. The most frequent themes of his Odes and verse Epistles are love, friendship, philosophy, and the art of poetry.

Bohemond I

2004-12-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

The son of Robert Guiscard (the Astute) and his first wife, Alberada, Bohemond was christened Marc but nicknamed after a legendary giant named Bohemond. The nickname proved well taken because physically Bohemond was the ideally

Malvaceae

2004-12-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

The mallow family, a large group of flowering plants, in the order Malvales, containing about 95 genera of herbs, shrubs, and trees. Representatives occur in all except the coldest parts of the world but are most numerous in the tropics. Economically, the most important member of the family is cotton (q.v.; Gossypium). Several species of Hibiscus produce fibres that are of lesser

Sangster, Margaret Elizabeth Munson

2004-12-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

Margaret Munson was an avid reader from an early age. She turned easily to writing, and her first published story, �Little Janey� (1855), won her a commission to write 100 juvenile stories to accompany a series of illustrations.

Macdonagh, Donagh

2004-12-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

MacDonagh was the son of Thomas MacDonagh, a poet and leader of the Easter Rising (1916). After attending the National University of Ireland, Dublin, MacDonagh practiced law (1936 - 46) and was a district judge (1946 - 68). His varied literary career includes comedies such

Abzug, Bella (bella Savitzky)

2004-12-20T05:21:00.000-08:00

American lawyer and politician (b. July 24, 1920, New York, N.Y.--d. March 31, 1998, New York), variously identified as "Battling Bella" and "Mother Courage," was a quintessential progressive known for her groundbreaking roles as peace activist, feminist, environmentalist, and early advocate for gay rights. Abzug was the daughter of Russian- Jewish immigrants. She earned degrees from Hunter

Ikeda Hayato

2004-12-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Born into a sake brewer's family, he graduated from Kyoto Imperial University law school in 1925 and began his career in the Ministry of Finance. After rising to the position of vice minister

Ganassa, Zan

2004-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ganassa, who took his name from that of a character he invented, was perhaps the first to take a commedia company beyond the borders of Italy. Evidence exists of his appearances at Mantua (1568) and Ferrara (1570), and a performance by him and his company in Paris in 1571 was perhaps

Narrator

2004-12-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

A work may have more than one narrator, as in an epistolary novel such as Samuel Richardson's

Earth, Geologic History Of

2004-12-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Evolution of the continents, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere. The layers of rock at the Earth's surface contain evidence of the evolutionary processes undergone by these components of the terrestrial environment during the times at which each layer was formed. By studying this rock record from the very beginning, it is thus possible to trace their development

Craft Guild

2004-12-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Also called �Mystery� (from Latin ministerium, �occupation�), a European medieval occupational association, usually comprising all the artisans - and often the suppliers, retailers, and wholesale merchants - concerned with a specific branch of industry or commerce. A weavers' guild is recorded at Mainz as early as 1099 and in London and other cities of England during the reign of Henry I (1100 - 35); but the

Bacillite

2004-12-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

In geology, a type of crystallite (q.v.).

Armstrong, Henry

2004-12-13T05:56:00.000-08:00

Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Early in his career he boxed under the name Melody Jackson. He first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in